```
Closing the book, Chen Xing opened the Stone Booklet and looked at the activated Skill Tree, his attention once again irresistibly drawn to the first two skill trees.
All three skill trees could be activated at the same time; the only limit was the number of Skill Points he had.
What effects did the prerequisite skills of the first two skill trees have?
Other skills might be too expensive, but the prerequisite skills only required one Skill Point, which meant he could gather enough for one in just two days.
Chen Xing's attention focused on the skill "Beast Taming Linguistics."
"[Beast Taming Linguistics]After learning, one can understand pet languages, making it convenient to communicate and further train them (0/1)"
If he could communicate directly, it would definitely be easier.
He just didn't know what expression Taotie would have upon discovering that he could understand its speech.
Although he and Taotie had previously communicated, most of it was through spiritual connections; both could approximate the other's meaning through their emotions and tone of voice, and the higher the Beast Tamer's affinity with their beast, the clearer this emotional feedback would be, serving a purpose close to that of communication.
But it was only close to direct language conversation, not quite the same.
However, Chen Xing had heard of scholars who specialized in the study of beast languages, who were proficient in many beast languages and could communicate by imitating them through vocal techniques.
...
The next day in class, Wang Qiming was frequently distracted, his gaze wandering over Chen Xing's desk.
'It's bigger than mine?'
'It should be about the same...'
'Why does his seem a bit more robust?'
'That must be an illusion.'
'But it really does seem bigger than mine!'
Wang Qiming, with horror, realized Chen Xing's beast was growing like it was on steroids, expanding insanely as if it was cheating.
Just a few days ago, his beast was so much smaller than his own.
And now, in less than a week, not only had it caught up but it also surpassed his own beast.
He wanted to catch up, but felt powerless upon discovering he had reached his limit, as his family had hit the upper limit of their funds for krypton.
His parents were Beast Tamers themselves, and the daily maintenance and cultivation of a beast were considerable expenses. Furthermore, straining resources wasn't an option, since they needed to proceed gradually and sustainably over the three years of high school, slowly spending money in a stable manner.
Wang Qiming, with malice, theorized that Chen Xing's family must have spent a significant sum to buy some expensive advanced generic nutritional serums for him, and once the money ran out, the growth rate would slow down.
Spend money, keep spending! I want to see how much money your family has!
After school, as soon as Chen Xing returned home, he sensed something was amiss.
Unusually, his mother wasn't in the kitchen cooking, and his father wasn't reading the newspaper on the balcony; they were both seated in the living room.
Apart from his parents, there was a stranger in the living room, though not entirely unknown, as they had a brief encounter before.
It was the tall, thin police officer who had come to investigate previously.
He nodded at Chen Xing, "I've explained everything to your mother and them. Your sister was attacked on her way home and is now in the hospital under police protection."
"My sister was attacked?" Looking at his father's troubled face and his mother's eyes, red-rimmed from crying, an ominous premonition began to swirl in his heart.
```
```
"Your sister's life is currently not in danger, the doctor said that she has passed the critical stage. The assassin who attacked her is being hunted by the entire city. To prevent you from being targeted by the killer for revenge, I will stay here for the next two days until the killer is caught," the policeman hinted meaningfully toward the end.
At the same time, at the First People's Hospital of Jincheng New District.
In the core ward of the VIP area, several policemen were whispering outside.
Sitting on the hospital bed behind the floor-to-ceiling windows, a young girl was holding a book, and next to her sat a policewoman who seemed helpless as Chen Lingya answered many of her questions with 'I don't know.'
Footsteps approached, and an older policeman came in, called the policewoman out, and then closed the door behind them.
A middle-aged man who had entered with the policeman stayed inside the hospital room.
Chen Lingya looked up, "Principal."
Wan Hailong nodded, his tone calm and forceful, "No one can bully a student from my school. I will give you an explanation for this incident."
"Thank you, Principal."
"Yes, the school will reimburse all your expenses at the hospital during these days. You just focus on recovering here, and I'll have your teacher send you your daily study tasks. Your family will also be taken care of by the school, so don't worry."
Chen Lingya nodded, looking at the man who had brought her to Wanhai Middle School and had gone against public opinion to give her a wealth of resources, "I understand, thank you, Principal."
Wan Hailong smiled, "The best way to repay your alma mater is to perform well in the college entrance exam."
As Wan Hailong emerged from the ward, the captain from the police department, having received the news, hurried over to greet him, "Principal Wan."
"Thank you for taking care of my student's matter," Wan Hailong said to the captain.
The captain's expression turned serious, and he quickly acknowledged.
As Wan Hailong walked away, the other policemen were a bit puzzled. The captain seemed to treat the principal of Wanhai High School with excessive respect.
Even though he was a principal, he was just the principal of a private high school. Was all that respect necessary?
The police department held considerable authority, especially in an era where everyone could become a Beast Tamer. As an organization responsible for the city's internal violence, even business leaders had to be courteous when meeting their captain.
"You don't understand, if it were any other middle school principal, it would be different, but this one is special," the captain reflected, "He was personally invited by our district chief. I had the honor of attending his welcome banquette, where the mayor personally made an appearance. All those high-ranking officials were very courteous to him."
At this point, the captain paused, "Most importantly, Principal Wan is also an Advanced Beast Tamer."
If it were only for the previous reasons, it would be just a matter of respect, but the last point was the fundamental reason for his genuine reverence.
Advanced Beast Tamer?!
The faces of the policemen changed dramatically. Even without the former identity, just the last point alone was enough to command their respect.
What is an Advanced Beast Tamer? Only a Beast Tamer who not only possessed a Transcendence Stage beast but also completed the Transcendence Ceremony could qualify as an Advanced Beast Tamer! It was a realm they could only dream of.
In the quiet hospital corridor filled with the strong smell of disinfectant and whitewashed walls, Wan Hailong raised his right hand.
A summoning array emerged on the back of his hand, followed by a flash of light.
A completely black crow perched silently on his shoulder, bowing its head and pecking at its own feathers without a care.
"Go and warn certain people that it's best to behave themselves during this critical time. Anyone who sticks their hand out, I will chop it off!"
Wan Hailong gave an address, and the crow's intelligent eyes turned before it nodded. It spread its wings and dove toward the wall behind.
The moment before touching the wall, its body became ethereal, passing through the wall and soaring into the sky, circling above the hospital for a moment before flying directly toward the east.
```